Los Alamos resident still missing after 7 weeks
Story and photos by Minesh Bacrania
Anthony Chavez, a longtime resident of 37th Street in the Denver Steels, was reported missing on May 8. Seven weeks later, he's still missing, and many questions remain.
Carl Buckland grew up with Chavez in Los Alamos, and they were close friends. “We’ve known each other since before grade school,” he said.
Their lives went in different directions after graduating high school, but they remained in touch. Chavez spent many years away from New Mexico but returned in the late 1990s and worked at the lab until approximately 2017. Carl Buckland practiced law for many years in Salt Lake City and returned to Santa Fe in 2012. Chavez was “family,” said Carl’s wife Julianne Buckland. “He was a likable guy... not a curmudgeon.”
The Bucklands said the last time they were all together in person was for Carl Buckland’s birthday dinner in late April, and they’d spoken by phone around May 2. On Thursday, May 8, Chavez’s brother Dimas Chavez, who lives in Maryland, called Carl Buckland and said he’d been trying to get in touch with Anthony, but no one answered the phone. The Bucklands couldn’t reach Anthony by telephone either and drove up to Los Alamos to check on him. Anthony’s car was in the driveway, but no one answered their knock at the door. They requested that Los Alamos police perform a welfare check, and upon entering the house found nothing amiss, except there was no sign of Anthony.
The Los Alamos Police Department released a missing-person announcement on Monday, May 12, four days after the report was filed. Boomtown has not been able to confirm the reason for the delayed response, and a June 18 public records request for any records relevant to the case is still being processed. LAPD released a second announcement on Monday, May 19.
Following the public announcements, LAPD received some leads they deemed unfounded. Detective Ladislas Szabo, who is leading the investigation, received reports that Chavez had been seen “at the train station in Albuquerque... and then someone saw him at the airport,” reportedly with a lot of baggage. But to date, the few responses LAPD has received has not “led to anything concrete,” said Szabo. Chavez did not carry a cellphone, and records from his landline show he last made calls from his house on the evening of May 5. His banking activity also ceased around that time.
While Chavez was somewhat of “a loner,” Carl Buckland emphasized that “he wasn’t lonely... he made friends everywhere.” Despite his age, Chavez is also fit and healthy. “He’d walk from his house to Ashley Pond,” where he would sit and “write poetry,” according to Buckland. “He also liked to hike on the trails,” particularly on the trails on Pueblo Canyon Bench.
While no one seems to know what happened to Chavez, one theory is that he went for a hike and experienced accidental or intentional misfortune. Buckland sees that as unlikely though. “He was healthy, and extremely [mentally] stable.” But he was also a “fair-weather hiker,” and likely wouldn’t have ventured out in the series of spring storms passed through Los Alamos during May 5-8, according to Buckland.
LAPD officers checked the trails on the Pueblo Canyon bench immediately after Chavez was reported missing. A search of the canyon bottom has not yet been attempted, but it is being considered. On June 18, volunteers with trained cadaver-detection dogs from the Sandia Search Dogs and Mountain Canine Corps also searched Chavez's home, his nearby sister's house, and the Pueblo Canyon bench trails all without result.
Another theory is that Chavez left with someone, either intentionally or against his will, but no physical evidence has been found to support that. “There was no evidence of a scuffle,” Szabo said. “There was no blood. There was nothing. It was just like he left." Chavez’s wallet, keys, and cigarettes were all on the living room table in the house as well. “I think he didn’t plan on leaving for a long time.… Did he go with somebody? Was he picked up by somebody?”
Szabo confirmed that none of Chavez’s neighbors have surveillance footage during that time recorded by things like doorbell cameras or other home security measures.
Buckland continues to search for his friend. “We’re not ready to give up,” he said. “We’re checking a lot of loose ends.” He’s also holding out hope that “maybe he’ll just walk through the door.”
Chavez is a 5’6” tall, 78-year-old white male, who weighs around 135 pounds. Buckland said Chavez was known to visit downtown locations like the Los Alamos Public Library, Ashley Pond, China Palace, and occasionally the restaurants and breweries at Central Park Square. He was also known to hike along Pueblo Canyon, and ride his bike around town, particularly on Canyon Rim trail.
Szabo has not given up either and is asking for help from the public. Anyone who may have seen or spoken to Chavez in the last few months, however briefly, is asked to contact Szabo at 505-709-5150.
What a mystery! I hope Chavez will turn up soon.